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<title>Before the Beginning by That-Otome-Potato (AgeOfRogues)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679154">Before the Beginning</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgeOfRogues/pseuds/That-Otome-Potato'>That-Otome-Potato (AgeOfRogues)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fairy Tail</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Reader-Insert</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:46:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,093</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679154</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgeOfRogues/pseuds/That-Otome-Potato</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sting Eucliffe x Reader-insert</p><p>You are an independent wizard with ties to Fairy Tail. When you run into a couple of friends, painful memories try to surface.  But they cower inside your heart at Sting's touch and you would do almost anything to get past it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sting Eucliffe/Original Female Character(s), Sting Eucliffe/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Before the Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Outside the village of Shirotsume<br/><br/><strong>(Y/N)’s P.O.V</strong><br/><br/><em>(Y/N)... </em><br/><br/><em>(Y/N)... </em><br/><br/>“Mmmn…” I heard my name called distantly, as if someone calling from across a vast canyon. I cracked open my eyes just enough to see dark eyes and blood-red hair. I groaned and rolled over where I lay. “Five more minutes, mom.”</p><p>“Come on, (Y/N). We’ve got a job to do! What do you think we hired you for?”</p><p>I cast my gaze from one friend to another, seeing Natsu standing off to the side with his arms crossed and a pout on his lips with sweet Happy sitting happily on his shoulder.</p><p>A sigh escaped my lips as I gingerly stood from the hard ground where I had made my bed, and swiped the grass, dirt and leaves off my tan shorts and straightened my (F/C) short-sleeved t-shirt. “Sometimes I feel like you just want to bring me along on your jobs because you like eating the fire I Make.”</p><p>Natsu just waved my words off with one of his hands. “That’s just part of it.” His waving hand stopped and gripped into a fist as he turned to face me with one of his wide, infectious smiles. “You’re also pretty powerful. Your Maker magic is nearly on par with Gray’s.”</p><p>“Then why not bring him? I was planning on going shopping for some new outfits back at home.”</p><p>“Gray was already on a job with Juvia beyond Hargeon. He wouldn’t have made it back to Magnolia in time to travel with us. Plus, you happened to be in the area on another job, so it made strategic sense.”</p><p>I looked towards Erza at her reply and simply shrugged. “Whatever. As long as I get my fair share of the reward and Natsu doesn’t try to eat my hand. Again.”</p><p>Erza smiled with a sigh as she placed her hands on her armored hips. Natsu cast another of his wide grins at me along with a thumbs up before we started walking the last leg of the journey towards the job location.</p><p>~*~</p><p>“Fire make - White flame whip!”</p><p>I pulled one fisted hand away from the palm of the other, a sturdy length of white flame drawing from it. With a flick of my wrist, it cracked through the air, sending bright sparks in all directions as I faced what was left of our foe a few short hours later.</p><p>“Come on, you rotten lump of flesh. Come at me!” I gripped my weapon harder, the flame warm and comforting against my palm as the end sparked and flared, looking as if it was bladed at the end.</p><p>I swirled the whip around as one of the last Dark Guild wizards we were fighting, charged towards me, feeling the familiar rage that always came whenever I was paid to fight Dark Guild members.</p><p>Screams and begging filled my ears and I could feel my magic power surge, the sounds so similar to that which I heard on a dark night so long ago. The memories clouded my vision, causing darkness to encroach on everything around me as I prepared to defend or attack, depending on the man before me.</p><p>
  <em>‘(Y/N) Run!!’ </em>
</p><p>The charging man skidded to a stop, the waning battle around us forgotten, looking at me with a growing realization before being replaced by fear. I felt a smirk form on my lips, licking them at the sight. Little brought me more joy than the sight of a Dark Guild member gazing at me in fear. It was my way to pay them all back for what they took from me.</p><p>“Y...You’re the Dark Guild Slayer, aren’t you? (Y/N) (Y/L)!”</p><p>Pulses of magic power came off me as soft as a spring breeze against sheets drying on the line. I looked down at him with a smile I knew was nowhere near residing in my eyes and saw his entire body trembling. “That’s what I’ve been called. But never for very long. You and your friends will be no exception.”</p><p>With darkness still licking at the edges of my vision, I released a roar and brought my whip down on his flesh, over and over, watching as his skin split and leaving lines of dark red behind. His cries of pain barely registering beyond annoyance.</p><p>“Please, stop! I haven’t done anything to you!”</p><p>My heart clenched at the words of his begging, so similar to the ones that were always in my memories and nightmares. I shook my head to keep those memories at bay. I couldn’t afford to get lost to them right now.</p><p>I let the end of my weapon rest on the ground next to me and sneered down at him as one would a bug beneath their boot. “Your guild stands accused by the Magic Council of Fiore of extortion, enslavement and murder in the coastal village of June Day. Your punishment, should you survive, is prison for the rest of your miserable lives.”</p><p>The weak man before me gasped and scrambled to his feet, turning to try to run. I brought my weapon around again to wrap around his bare ankles, singeing his flesh as I pull on it to trip him and pull him back towards me. Back and graveling on his side at my feet, I pull cuffs made from magic sealing stones from my small bag at my hip and place a pair on his wrists and ankles. I roll him to his stomach as I sat on his back and arms, pulling on his hair to bring his head close to mine. His spine bent at a painful angle and he whimpered in pain. I didn’t care. If I’d been in my right mind, I might have cared that another human being was in pain. But he was also a member of a dark guild and all of them must be extinguished. They all must pay with their lives!</p><p>But before I could Make a knife to end his pathetic life, while waiting for the Enforcement Squad to arrive, I felt a hard hand on my shoulder and multiple presences behind me.</p><p>“(Y/N), he’s defeated. You’ve done enough.”</p><p>My eyes shot towards the speaker, finding Erza staring back at me. I stood and shook off her hand, walking a short distance away to clutch at my racing heart, trying to calm it but failed. It hurt so much. It always did, when the memories came with every interaction with Dark Guild members. The desolation and helplessness, the tears. They always brought wave after wave of heart ache to my chest and it always took hours of silence and stillness before it would dissipate.</p><p>I’d let it happen again. I let my past fuel my anger and let it explode. I almost killed an unarmed man. I would have done so if not for Erza’s timely arrival.</p><p><em>‘Not very much like you now, am I, Mother?’</em> I let out a weak chuckle at the memory of my mother's beautifully kind smile. With a strong shudder, I could feel my body loosen enough to pretend I felt normal again. When I looked around, I noticed that La Harr and his men had arrived to take the dark guild members we’d defeated into custody.</p><p>I moved towards my friends until I was next to the armored woman and watched the other guild get escorted into a prison wagon.</p><p>“Erza, I’m sorry. I let you, Natsu and Happy down.”</p><p>“Not at all, (Y/N). A person’s past makes up part of who they are. Unfortunately, it’s sometimes hard not to let it control you.”</p><p>I grit my teeth in shame, but nodded. “I need more training.”</p><p>“Or fewer dark guilds!” Natsu smirked and bumped his fist on my shoulder in a friendly gesture. I gave him a weak smile and rubbed the spot he had hit.</p><p>“Talk to the Magic Council on that one. They are my main client and are constantly sending me after them, it feels like.”</p><p>“Then you should join Fairy Tail. Then you won’t have to worry about the Magic Council sending you after them.”</p><p>I guffawed. “No matter how many times you ask, Natsu, I will never join a guild.”</p><p>“Will you ever tell us why?”</p><p>I gave them a simple, gentle smile, as I answered Erza's question. “Maybe someday.”</p><p>“You’ve been saying this for four years!”</p><p>“We all have our secrets, Happy.”</p><p>Erza nods knowingly, returning my smile with one of her own. “She makes a valid point, boys. We should leave her alone about it. After we get paid, we’ll give you your fair share. Thanks for your help yet again.”</p><p>“Much obliged, Erza. What are friends for?”</p><p>“Exactly. Come by the guild the next time you’re in Magnolia. We owe you a drink.”</p><p>“Sounds like a plan. I’ll take you up on it next time I find my way in that direction.”</p><p>“Don’t be a stranger, (Y/N)!”</p><p>“No one can be stranger than you, Natsu.” All three of us laughed as we went our separate ways - Natsu, Happy and Erza towards Magnolia, myself back towards my home in Crocus via the northern road.</p><p>As I was passing through one of the cities along the way back home, I noticed something had changed on the horizon from when I had been here months prior. When I scanned the valley before me, I saw a humongous building had sprouted in the middle of the city, standing proud and slightly ominous with it’s large statue on the roof.</p><p>Inside the city, I went to the markets. Whilst pursuing the various wares, many of which I couldn’t find in Crocus, I overheard residents talking. According to them, Sabertooth, who had been in this city for years but had had little presence to their name, suddenly had a rise in power thanks to a new master and his gathering of powerful guild members. I felt a twinge of fear attempt to take root in my chest, but I pushed it down. Large guilds doesn’t mean they’re dark or evil. But I <span class="u">would</span> keep my eye on them, should the Magic Council decide otherwise in the future.</p><p>Picking up a few things I couldn’t find in the capitol, I was about to head towards the edge of the city where the different modes of transportation were, when I heard what sounded like the squeals of girls. I couldn’t begin to imagine what could cause it, and honestly, I couldn’t care less.</p><p>Just as I was turning to leave with my treasures in hand, I thought I caught sight of a head of unruly blond hair, side by side with one of black hair. I froze at the sight, feeling long ago memories attempt to resurface. I vehemently pushed them back into the shadows where they were kept. <em>‘</em></p><p>
  <em>'There’s no way…’</em>
</p><p>~*~</p><p>
  <strong>Sting’s P.O.V</strong>
</p><p>“Man, every time we come back from a job, the group of girls and admirers that greets us grows! This is freakin’ awesome!”</p><p>“You know it!” I looked down at my partner, Lector, smiling along with him before I squat down to be closer to his level, sharing a fist-bump.</p><p>“This is such a hassle. This gathering always keeps us from going home. Would you stop encouraging it?!”</p><p>Lector and I turned our smirks towards him and Frosche, our grins growing larger.</p><p>“But all this attention is so much fun! All of these gorgeous girls waiting for us to come home from a job means things won’t be boring while we recuperate.”</p><p>Rogue growled at me before turning to push through the crowd around us. I stood and was about to choose my company for the evening amongst those nearby, when I caught a whiff of a scent I hadn’t come across in years.</p><p>Instantly, my attention was drawn away from the gathering before us with a laser focus. “Rogue.”</p><p>I sensed Rogue return to my side, as tense with memory as I was. “Is that…? It couldn’t be…”</p><p>My jaw clenched at the familiar scent of (Y/N), mixed with cinnamon and cinder. We pushed our way through the crowd to find the person the scent belonged to. After some frantic searching, looking at every face in the mass of people around us, my attention was caught when I noticed the back of a familiar, (H/C) haired head.</p><p>I instantly reached around, knowing Rogue was next to me and gripped his arm.</p><p>“It’s her.”</p><p>
  <em>‘(Y/N)’ </em>
</p><p>~*~</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please let me know what you think! This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic and I want to make sure that there isn't any out of character!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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